ePub The Crisis of Zionism by Peter Beinart in History

Review

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. There are betterBy Benjamin ROne of the first books I read about Zionism and the Israel/Palestinian conflict; The Crisis of Zionism was recommended to me by a professor at the University of Miami. At the time I enjoyed it a lot. However; I now think that its argument is basically a simplified (one might say; simplistic) version of Gershom Gorenberg's The Unmaking of Israel; a far more sophisticated polemic and progressive guide to Israel's complicated political history. Whereas Beinart draws a black-and-white distinction between the "bad;" illiberal Israel of the post-1967 settlement in Gaza and the West Bank and the "good" Green Line pre-1967 Israel; a liberal democratic paradise; Gorenberg shows how the seeds of '67 were sown by short-sighted political decisions made by politicians during and immediately after Israel's founding. He is also very clear that the process of settlement has been aided and abetted by both major secular parties that have held power since 1967; Labor and Likud. Finally; Gorenberg is not blind to the gross mistreatment of Arab Israeli *citizens* as well as Arabs in the occupied zones. That said; both Beinart and Gorenberg believe the greatest threat to Israel comes from the radical religious right and its settlement movement; and both recommend addressing the Arab grievances from 1967 by creating a Palestinian state while eliding the 1948 grievances; including; most crucially; the right of return for Palestinian refugees. One may argue about whether this is a good trade from the Palestinian point of view (for an example of an Israeli Jewish intellectual advocating a "consociational democratic;" or binational; solution; see Yehouda Shenhav's "Beyond the Two State Solution: a Jewish Political Essay.")0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy CustomerGreat read from a very smart writer.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Excellent review of the critical issues concerning the Jewish community ...By emanuel shahafExcellent review of the critical issues concerning the Jewish community in the US and Israel. A good read; easy to understand and very worrying.